Dhr. W. (Wycliffe) Wanzala: “Ethnobotanicals for management of the brown ear tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus in western Kenya”

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3 Mar 2009 16:00
Unit: Wageningen University
Location: Aula, building 362, Gen. Foulkesweg 1, Wageningen
Organisation: Wageningen University
Promotor: Prof.dr. J.C. van Lenteren
Co Promotor: Prof.dr.ir. W. Takken, Prof. A. Hassanali (ICIPE, Nairobi, Kenia)

 This thesis describes the effect of ethnobotanicals from the Bukusu community in Kenya on the behaviour of the brown ear tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, the main vector of East Coast fever in sub-Saharan Africa. From more than 150 plant species spread over 110 genera and 51 families documented in the community, eight plants were selected for screening on the repellency effects of their essential oils on ticks and two plants Tagetes minuta and Tithonia diversifolia were chosen for laboratory and field bioassays. Studies showed that treatment of the predilection feeding site of R. appendiculatus with the essential oils of T. minuta and T. diversifolia significantly deterred ticks from reaching the ear. In the field, the essential oils of both plants showed a significant effect on R. appendiculatus and other ticks naturally attached to the hosts. The essential oil of T. minuta affects ticks more than the essential oil of T. diversifolia.
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